The present disclosure relates to metal foams, more particularly, to a investment method to manufacture metal foam.
Reticulated metal foams are porous, low-density solid foams that includes few, if any, intact bubbles or windows. Reticulated metal foams have a wide range of application and may be utilized in aerospace applications.
Numerous existing manufacturing technologies for producing reticulated metal foams have been attempted, however, automated production of such reticulated structures may be rather difficult to implement as the ceramic investment often proves difficult to remove without damage to the resultant relatively delicate metallic foam structure. Further, the existing manufacturing technologies lack the capability to efficiently manufacturer relatively large sheets of metal foam as the weight of the ceramic investment is sufficient to crush and convolute the shape of the polyurethane foam precursors. This may result in castability complication, polymer burnout, and reduced dimensional tolerances.